Saturday, 18 September 2021

Endorphin.es - West coast patch notes

Some Basic West Coast Patch notes using mainly endorphin.es modules
Out of Furthr ---> in of LPG (Terminal or Takaab LPG)
The main sound source is the final output (triangle icon on a modern Furthrr) of the Carrier.
The Furthr is a complex oscillator made up of a mod osc and a carrier osc.
It's layout is close to a Buchla 259.
 
 
 
The terminal is made up of two LPGs and two modulation sources.
Reminds me a bit of the Buchla 208 LPGs and envelopes.
These envelopes/modulation sources are called Airplane A & Airplane B.
We are using these on the Furthrrrr generator.
 
The unedited video:
 


Airplane B modulates the waveshaper of  the Carrier Osc
Airplane B modulates the frequency (via the ‘mood index’) ... those 4 switches
which separate the mod osc & Carrier osc.
Just using the unipolar outputs of both airplanes.
 


 

Using CV output #9 of the shuttle control.
It's connected to a Faderbank 
see post:
..
This is sending out a LFO/SH .. the timing is controlled by the 16n
CV output #10 is also good for this patch
Its sending out a fluctuating LFO

 Envelope A (Airplane A) modulates the decay of Airplane B
 
Finally using shuttle control outputs  1 and 2
They are plugged into the main CV in of both MOD and CARRIER oscillators
of the Futhurr 
 

 See post
Allows a bit of octave shifting


Thursday, 16 September 2021

Endorphin.es Shuttle control & faderbank 16n

 The Faderbank -16n 
is a excellent controller for the Endorphin.es Shuttle control
 
It sends midi CC messages via the USB
The editor is at:
 
You should see a page like this
 
 

The 16 channels correspond to CC values from 32 to 47 (default)
You can of course customize this.
I decided to leave the CC values as they are for the moment
Set all the channels to Omni
 
The 16th jack is being used as my master clock.
It's a square LFO responding to CC 47


 

Tuesday, 14 September 2021

Zlob SVF (State Variable Filter) - build notes

 These are some build notes for the ZLOB filter.
It's just 4HP and sounds great

It love the small form factor.

Just 4HP. WE need more 4HP filters ... useful for compact performance rigs.

The official build notes are very good.
Comprehensive.

https://zlobmodular.com/product/svf/

 
These are just my personal build notes to help troubleshooting should I run into any problems.
The official build notes: 
 
It provides Low Pass, Band Pass, and High Pass outs inspired by WASP and Thomas Henry filter topologies. 
 
Resistors. caps, IC headers

Everything is through-hole

Quite easy to build.



That 2K resistor needs to be in contact with the two transistors

 2N3906 PNP transistor TO92D Q1, Q2 (tayda or mouser)
 

The power section ... 

2 1N4001 1N4004 DO41-10 D1, D2
3 1n4148 DIODED0-35 DO-35 D3, D4, D5 

This trimmer is used to set the lowest cutoff frequency. 
With resonance at 0(fully CCW) and with the frequency up the filter will self oscillate in some modes/situations. 

This is the control board. It sits at right angles to the main PCB


.They are connected with a header

ICs are finally in.

1 LM13700N LM13700N DIP16 IC3
1 TL072IP 8-DIP(has to be a low offset voltage dual opamp)
1 TL074 TL074_ DIP14 U1


The 2019 revision also adds improved cutoff and resonance response and attenuversion through the ACV IN using the above pot. CV IN provides another unattenuated voltage input to modulate the frequency.

 At the CV in, +10v will open the filter completely if the cutoff pot is CCW(counter clockwise). With the cutoff knob at noon the filter can be opened with +5v or closed with -5v. CV input at the ACV in is dependent on the CV attenuverter knob.

The filter has 2 audio inputs, but channel 2 is jumper selectable between standard audio in or Ping-able operation. 


There are 3 jumpers located at the bottom of the main PCB near the power section.
 
These allow you to select the modes for max resonance, self oscillation or no oscillation. 
This is all based on the setting of the resonance pot.
 
When set to self oscillation mode, the filter can produce a sine like wave with no input and a trapezoid like wave in the max resonance jumper setting.  
 
In max resonance mode, the filter output can exceed 10Vpp
 

At the CV in, +10v will open the filter completely if the cutoff pot is CCW(counter clockwise). With the cutoff knob at noon the filter can be opened with +5v or closed with -5v. CV input at the ACV in is dependent on the CV attenuverter knob.
 
 

Saturday, 11 September 2021

Remembering 9/11

Remembering this day 20 years ago.
The world changed forever.
War is a catastrophe. One can only hope that events like this don't happen again.

These are Afghan "war" rugs.
Most likely woven by women and children (the most vulnerable victims of war) in villages and refugee camps.
Last year, Afghans were the world’s second biggest group of refugees after Syrians.
I reckon, they are now the biggest.

The date 19=3=03 is the day of the invasion of Iraq

Afghanistan has a long tradition of carpet weaving.
A rug takes eight months to a year to make; some villages make 20 rugs a year.
It's sad that modern Afghan rugs depict war.
Lets home that one day, peaceful designs will return.

Friday, 10 September 2021

Elk Elektroniks ELKLIK

Introducing ELKLIK via Kickstarter next week! 
It's an electronic switch for Euro.
The module is a CV controlled relay with integrated comparator.
 
Though this module ca be used  as a clock divider or sequential switch,
I think the original idea behind this is to be able to control non modular gear with your eurorack. 
Things like LED lighting or solenoids which consume lots of power.
 
The KickStarter notification page is here
 
  ..

Wednesday, 8 September 2021

Happy 909 day

 The Queen of Pentacles just arrived in time for September 9.
Thank you endorphin.es & Happy 909 day
 
I don't know which drum I like the most.
I really like both and will probably keep both
They each have 7 voices.
The queen has 3 analog drum voices and 4 sample based voices. You can put your own samples in the SD card which is at the back on the module.
I dont mind this. Its a drum machine, not a sample player. The real estate is better utilised with more controls and effects than a SD card slot.
 
It's not a clone / copy of the Roland TR 909 which I'm happy about. We need new drums. 
Apparently, the 3 analog voices are based on 909 circuits ... but there is no intention to just copy.
This is so refreshing to see. Thank you Endorphin.es for creating something new, which still honours the past.
 
If you want a 909, get one.
 
The Blck Noir.
Here the circuits are loosely modeled on the Roland CR-78. 
Though it sounds nothing like my 78.
It's a little more noisy (in a good way) and the extra effects and controls open up the beast.
It reminds me of the DFAM. both very different, but industrial and metallic sounding.

It shares the same effects and filter as the Queen.

The voices are
  • Kick
  • Snare-drum
  • Tambourine
  • Closed hi-hat
  • Open hi-hat
  • Cymbals
  • Metal beat

Missing the Guiro. It does have the "metallic beat" ..an accent that can be overlaid on the hi-hat voice
which I think sounds really neat.

The Master isolator-style LP/HP filter is great.



AmpMix - RYO - Build notes

 A pretty easy build.
It's from a company called Ljunggren Audio.
I sadly cant find them on line anymore. 
 

Hopefully they will return one day.
These are the virgin boards.

I's a 4-channel mixer/attenuator with 2.0x gain and 5V offset on each channel in an 8hp module.

" Ampmix was designed as a handy CV mixer and processor with buffered inputs but its low-noise circuit means it will also work great with audio, even with full gain.

A 2.5V voltage offset is generated then normaled to the inputs of the 4 channels, giving them a maximum of 5V out each with knobs turned full clockwise (2.0x gain). Please note that these offsets will affect the mixing if the channel hasn't been patched on its input or output, so turning all unused channels fully counter-clockwise/left (off) is advisable for a clean mix"

https://modwiggler.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=99573

So if you are using this as an audio mixer, make sure that any unused channels have their knobs turned fully counter clockwise.



Most of the components are pretty easy to obtain except for the Zener
 

The LM 4040 2.5V voltage reference zener
Mouser
926-LM4040AIZ25NOPB  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The ICs are TL074s and 072s
 


 .....

 
 







Friday, 3 September 2021

Roland JUNO-60 JUNO-106 CR-78 all jamming together

...

 

Analog clock from the CR-78 is syncing the JUNO-60. The 106 is playing the pad and the arp on the 60 triggered from the 106 via MIDI.

Buchla 281 - quad function generator - Not your usual ADSR

These are some basic notes for the Buchla 281 module that I'm putting together for a friend.
It's probably one of the most common (and essential) of Buchla modules.
Don called the 281 a function generator, rather than a plain old envelope generator.
I think this is warranted as it's not your standard ADSR. 
Depending on how it is patched, you can produce really complex wave forms.
 

In  most electronic labs you will usually find a function generator. 
This was a rather large, intimidating and complicated looking piece of electronic test equipment. It might even be software.
The FG was developed to produce various types of wave forms for testing electronic circuits.
 
 
 
The Buchla 281


The 281 is made up of 4 function generators
 
They are named A, B, C, D. (Top to Bottom)
They are independent, but the module also allows you various ways to combine their outputed voltages.
 
You can patch  within the module.
Inputs are on the left. Outputs on the right.
The top left orange jack is a pulse input.
The top right red jack is a pulse output.
The bottom left black jacks are CV inputs to control  attack & decay. 
The bottom left is your CV output.










The toggle switch allows selection of 3 modes of operation.
 
1. Cycle. 
This similar to an LFO. It's my favorite clock source. I will often use this as my master clock.

 2. Transient (Attack-Release)

3. Gate ( Attack-Sustain-Release)
 
 
 
The bottom section combines -- A& B & C & D --- Quadrature & ORs.
 
The OR is what's called "Analog Logic" or Fuzzy Logic," it simply outputs the highest voltage of the two envelopes. It uses diodes.
 
It's a combiner , not a mixer.
 

 
"OR" has nothing to to with binary logic.
 
If you look at the top knob, its current setting  is all CVs from Function Generator A. 
As you turn it clockwise it blends in CVs from FG B
 
http://buchlatech.blogspot.com/2008/10/adsr-and-buchla.html 

Quadrature Mode
When this is selected, two generators are linked together in a loop configuration so that FG "B" will be slaved to "A".and FG "D" is slaved to "C".
 
""if the TRIG A switch is in the up position, envelope generator B will be triggered,
regardless of the position of the trigger select switch when envelope generator "A" reaches
 the peak of its cycle. (The end of its attack segment.)

the Trig B switch creates the same situation between envelope generators C and D.
 
( 1981 Buchla Synthesizer User Guide.)
 
Modular Synthesis has a very good explanation 
 
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Wednesday, 1 September 2021

Morocco - Sahara Desert

Some sand-boarding in the Sahara Desert , Morocco.
The world's largest hot desert, the Sahara stretches 5.6 million square miles.
Getting to the top of some of the dunes takes the best part of a morning.
Best to start the treck as early as you can before it gets too hot.
 

 
Such a surreal place. We have lots of deserts in Australia, but nothing like this.
We didnt have proper sandboards.
These are for snow :-) ... not going to last long out here.
 

The art of riding a camel.
Definitely wear long pants to avoid chafing on the inside of your legs, plus bring closed-toe shoes.
Move with the camel. The first half day is the worst. Once you get used to the sway & roll of the camel's body
its quite easy. We rode the camel for nearly 3 days and loved it.
At the end of our journey everyone had developed a close bond with their camels. 

Feeling like Lawrence of Arabia.


This is what it looks like when you come off your board.
 

Berber camp site.

Breakfast.





...




Helping build some mud huts.


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....




The wooden side planks are only placed temporarly. They are placed on both sides of the wall to be.

Soil is packed between then, when all is set, the wood is removed, to reveal the wall.

...